Traditional Russian Folk Dance

Traditional Russian folk dance is as broad
and diverse as the nation itself. While most
foreigners identify traditional Russian dance
with the stomping and and knee bending
characteristic of Eastern Slavic dance styles,
many forget about traditions of dance that
originated from Turkic, Uralic, Mongolic and
Caucasian peoples who are also native to Russia.

Below we have identified a small list of popular
folk dance from Russia. The first four (from the
Khorovod to the Chechotka), are traditional Russian
dances that first come to mind when thinking of
Russian folk dance. The remainder are a broad range
of dances from ethnic minorities found within
Russia.

Barynya, which literally means "landlady",
is a traditional Russian folk dance that combines
chastushka (a traditional folk poem
that is often in the form of satire) with spirited dancing.
The dancing usually has no set choreography and consists
mostly of fancy stomping and squatting. The refrain "Barynya,
barynya, sudarynya-barynya" (landlady, landlady, madam-landlady),
is also typically repeated throughout the course of the dance.

Dance originating from the Karelian peoples
of present day Republic of Karelia (Russia),
Leningrad Oblast and Finland. Culturally and
linguistically related to their Finnish cousins,
Karelian dance also has similarities.

Below is a folk dance originating from the
Komi peoples of north European Russia and
northwestern Siberia (mostly west, but also east
of the Ural mountains). While long amalgamated
into the broader Russian culture, many remnants
of the Komi culture still exist. This includes a
living language belonging to the "Uralic"
language family, a strong subsistence based
economy in more northerly Komi territiorries
(which includes reindeer husbandry), as well as
traditional Komi song and dance.

The Ingush peoples are a native ethnic group
of the North Caucasus who predominantly inhabit
the Russian Republic of Ingushetia.
Closely related culturally and linguistically to
their Chechen neighbors, music, song and dance
are highly regarded in the Ingush culture.

The largest (and most widely known) of all
ethnic groups in the North Caucasus are the
Chechens. Like their Ingush neighbors, Chechens
are an ancient people that have developed a rich
culture of song and dance.

Russia's largest ethnic minority is the
Tatar, with a population of 5.5 million. Sunni
Muslims of Turkic decent, the Tatar can be
broken into numerous subgroups that stretch not
only throughout Russia, but parts of Turkey, Ukraine and
Central Asia. The largest group is
the Kazan (Volga) Tatar who
originated from the historic state of Volga
Bulgaria at the confluence of the Volga and
Kama rivers in present day Russia. These ethnic
Tatar ("Bulgars") have managed to preserve
their language and culture which includes a wide
range of traditional folk dance.

Another culture of Turkic decent, and close
relatives to the Tatar (above), are the Bashkir
peoples native to the region of Bashkortostan.
Converted to Islam by the Tatar in the 13th
century, this independent and historically belligerent
ethnic group has nonetheless preserved its own
unique culture independent from their more
prominent Tatar neighbors.

Yet another culture of Turkic decent is that
of the Chuvash peoples. Native to an area
stretching from the Volga to Siberia, most
Chuvash presently live in and around the Russian
Chuvash Republic. One of the big
differences they have with that of their Turkic
cousins and neighbors is their faith. Chuvash
are predominantly Orthodox Christian. Chuvash
also have their own language, and of course,
unique traditions of song and
dance.

A small but unique culture within Russia is
that of the Kalmyk peoples. A culture of
Mongolic decent, the Kalmyk inhabit the
autonomous Republic of Kalmykia on the
western shore of the Caspian Sea. The only state
in Europe where the dominant religion
is Buddhism, Kalmykia and its inhabitants offer
a fascinating glimpse into the ancient culture,
song and dance of western Mongolic peoples -
known as Oirats.